Don't ask how I know that considering I haven't played the game in weeks. For proof, remember when Chip was sucked into that mural in the Adabat Temple of Gaia, right before he recovered his memory? The mural in question depicted Light Gaia facing off against Dark Gaia, and the former was in the same form we see him in. The 'little furry fairy' is indeed Chip's true form.

(Original poster) That theory sounds plausible at face value, but unfortunately it doesn't match the details.

Light Gaia obviously must have been in the Gaia Manuscripts, but he probably didn't show up as the little furry fairy Sonic calls Chip.

I personally got the impression that Chip was not Light Gaia's usual form (this is a Headscratchers page, it's okay to leave out spoiler tags), just a weird avatar he was forced into when Eggman prematurely broke the planet apart and woke the Gaias up.

Here's the question: did Professor Pickle know that Chip was Light Gaia? There's no way there couldn't have been at least a mention of that in the Gaia Manuscripts unless he was working with a seriously abridged version of them, but then why didn't he say anything when Sonic visited him time and again with Chip by his side? I mean, sure, he Never Asked, but if I knew that the hero I'm depending on was traveling with Dark Gaia's god-in-mortal-form natural counterpart without knowing it, I think I'd at least comment on it.

This may have been addressed in the PS3/360 version, but This Troper only played the Wii version, so he's not sure.

Sonic unleashed chip